lcionline Chapter 518 Going North
Chapter 518 Going North
Dong Xiaowan's sudden appearance surprised everyone, and Liu Ye was especially bewildered. After the Meilou incident, he had practically become public enemy number one on the Qinhuai River. Both the patrons and the courtesans should have avoided him like the plague, not been eagerly seeking his favor.
When Dong Xiaowan finally reached Liu Ye, panting, a group of people appeared in the distance, surrounding a sedan chair and chasing after them, shouting, "You wretch, where are you going?"
After the people in the sedan chair got off, Liu Ye suddenly realized that it was a remake of the story of Li Xiangjun refusing to enter the palace.
After getting out of the sedan chair, Tian Hongyu pointed at Dong Xiaowan angrily and scolded, "You shameless servant, you don't know what's good for you! I've already paid the ransom to redeem you and freed you from your status. From now on, you can enter the palace and become a person of high status. Where else can you find such a good thing? And yet you still ran away!"
Dong Xiaowan hid behind Liu Ye and replied, "Father-in-law, please calm down. It's not that I went back on my word. It was the madam who took the money. I never agreed to that. I am but a plain-looking woman and dare not make a fool of myself in the palace."
Tian Hongyu then noticed Liu Ye and exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Pingnan, is that you? It's one thing for Li Xiangjun to get involved, but are you going to interfere with Dong Xiaowan too?"
Liu Ye was both amused and exasperated. Dong Xiaowan had come uninvited, and he had never intended to interfere.
However, given the circumstances, it wouldn't be reasonable for him to push Dong Xiaowan into the hands of Emperor Chongzhen. After all, Dong Xiaowan was a woman who had once captivated him at first sight on the Suzhou River. It was hard to bear watching her jump into the fire. Emperor Chongzhen was known for his aversion to women; even someone as beautiful as Chen Yuanyuan couldn't survive in the palace, let alone Dong Xiaowan, who won over the court with her temperament and talent. Entering the palace was like entering a deep sea; she would likely die a miserable death, only to be driven out when she grew old and faded. It was a pitiful thought.
He thought for a moment and asked Tian Hongyu, "Father-in-law Tian, I heard you also chose Chen Yuanyuan? Although I have never met her, I have heard that she is incredibly beautiful and her singing is unparalleled?"
Tian Hongyu's face showed a smug look: "That's right."
Liu Ye continued, "Grandfather Tian, let me analyze this matter and see if it's reliable: His Majesty is a diligent emperor who devotes himself to national affairs every day. Don't you agree?"
Tian Hongyu was taken aback, unsure of what he meant, but Chongzhen's diligence was well-known, so he nodded: "That's right."
"Dong Xiaowan is different from Chen Yuanyuan. She is good at poetry, not Kunqu Opera. Think about it. After reviewing so many memorials every day, she was exhausted. If it were you, would you rather find someone to compose poems with, or listen to some music?"
Tian Hongyu blurted out, "Of course, it's listening to music! Writing poetry takes too much brainpower!"
"That's right!" Liu Ye clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Bringing Chen Yuanyuan into the palace, so that the emperor can listen to her voice and see her beautiful face after a day of busy state affairs, what a delightful thing that would be! If it were Dong Xiaowan, she would not want to enter the palace in the first place, and she would always have a stern face. Every time they met, she would be reciting poems. How could the emperor be in a good mood... The difference between the two is obvious."
Tian Hongyu pondered for a moment. Although his words were somewhat nonsensical, they were not without reason. What he thought was good might not be what the emperor liked. He had to cater to the emperor's preferences and see what he needed.
He glanced at Dong Xiaowan, who was hiding behind Liu Ye. Even a fool could see that there was something ambiguous between the two. It was possible that Dong Xiaowan had already given herself to this man and was only pretending to be pure and innocent in public.
After much deliberation, he decided that rather than sending a woman with such ambiguous relationships with men into the palace, it would be better to place his hopes on Chen Yuanyuan. In terms of looks alone, Chen Yuanyuan certainly surpassed Dong Xiaowan and Li Xiangjun. So he readily agreed to do her a favor: "The Earl of Pingnan is right. Dong Xiaowan, like Li Xiangjun, is ungrateful. Forcing her into the palace would only disgust His Majesty. It would be better to give her to the Earl of Pingnan; you can have her as a slave or maid as you please."
Liu Ye only wanted to help Dong Xiaowan out of a predicament, but he didn't expect things to escalate to this point. He was somewhat taken aback, but then he realized that he should deal with Tian Hongyu first, no matter what.
"I'll remember your kindness, Father-in-law. If you ever need my help, I will protect you." Others might not understand this, but Liu Ye wasn't just making empty promises. People like Tian Hongyu, former relatives of the emperor, would either die from being tortured after Li Zicheng entered Beijing or from the Qing army. The only one who could save him was himself.
Although Tian Hongyu didn't know what the future held, it seemed reasonable that a courtesan could gain a friendship with a count who held considerable military power. It was just a pity about the four thousand taels of ransom he had to pay, and he felt quite pained at the thought.
Liu Ye beckoned, signaling Shimazu Chiyo to bring over a package. "I dare not trouble the Imperial Father-in-law with this expense. Here is five thousand taels of silver; please accept it." This silver was originally intended to redeem Li Xiangjun from her servitude, but he ended up getting a free bargain without needing to use it, and even gained Dong Xiaowan for free. He felt indebted to her, so giving her the silver was only natural. Moreover, this way, it would be considered that he had bought both Dong and Li, rather than that Tian Hongyu had given them to him, which would be a psychological comfort to the two women. All things considered, five thousand taels for two of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai was truly a bargain.
Tian Hongyu was overjoyed to find that not only had he gotten his money back, but he had also made a profit. He said, "Since I gave it to the Earl of Pingnan, how could I possibly accept the money back?" But he took it without any hesitation.
The two sides said their goodbyes in a harmonious atmosphere. After Tian Hongyu had gone far away, Liu Ye was about to bid farewell to Xu Hongji and the others when another sedan chair came from afar.
Under everyone's gaze, the person in the sedan chair stepped down. Liu Ye didn't recognize him, but Li Zhenli and Li Xiangjun did. He was none other than Yang Longyou, Hou Fangyu's good friend.
Yang Longyou politely greeted Xu Hongji, Liu Ye, and the others, then handed Li Xiangjun a fan, saying, "Miss Xiangjun, Chaozong dared not come to see you, so he asked me to deliver this to you. This fan is a token of his love that he gave you that day; keep it as a memento. The peach blossoms on it are my painting, as a blessing to you."
Li Xiangjun blankly opened the fan, only to find that the bloodstains that had originally splattered on the snow-white fan surface had been cleverly transformed by Yang Longyou into peach blossoms, the petals speckled with blood, dazzlingly beautiful. Liu Ye watched coldly from the side; it seemed this was the Peach Blossom Fan that had been passed down through the ages, painted with blood.
Looking at the blood-red peach blossoms on the fan, Li Xiangjun recalled the events of that day, and thought of Hou Fangyu's cowardice and weakness. Filled with bitterness, she embraced Li Zhenli and sobbed. Li Zhenli, overwhelmed with emotion, gently patted her back to comfort her.
After Yang Longyou left, no one else came. Liu Ye bid farewell to Xu Hongji, and Li Xiangjun and Li Zhenli said their goodbyes sadly before boarding the "Far Voyage".
The massive fleet, escorted by Wuyi-class and Wuxiang-class warships, slowly departed the dock, heading east towards the open sea. After stirring up a storm in Southern Zhili, the Qionghai Navy was now on its next destination—northward to Shandong.